THE SURE SHIELD OF OUR EMPIRE.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 179, 2 June 1916, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE SURE SHIELD OF OUR EMPIRE.

(If the fleets at the command or this ocuntry at this moment are mot sufficient to secure national safety, then in the whole history of this country they never have been sufficient to" secure national safety. —The First Lord of the Admiralty.)

Mr. Balfour's tribute to the work of ihe Navy in introducing the Estimates will be received by the nation, says a X/ondon paper, with enthusiastic appre- ■ ciation. It is unfortunate that at this ■critical moment in the affairs or the nation doubts should have been raised as to the ability of the Fleet to perform its great task. Since such misgivings were, however, aroused, there is cause ..for deep satisfaction in the completeness with which thev rere distielled by the First Lord of the Admiralty. The public must remember that the silence preserved in official circles concerning the Navy is not a matter of choice, but of necessity. It is just as vital now as it was in August, 1914, to veil in the most absolute secrecy everything connected with the Fleet which would bo -of the least interest to the enemy. Thus, though the Admiralty would naturally like to give the British public much information concerning the gigantic strides made in new construction since the outbreak of war, it is never--theless impossible, without treason to the State, to do anything of the kind, itervous people may, however, set their -apprehensions at rest. Never in its aiistory, according to the First Lord of ..the Admiralty, was tne Navy more entirely equal to its great responsibilities than it is to-day. The mighty combination of Allied Sea-power, in which ours is of course, the premier position by rigift of overwhelming strength, is to<lay more than ever the ''sure shield of our Empire" and the indispensable basis of the victory of the Allies. The Navy has transported millions of men overseas, it keeps our armies supplied with everything they need in the field, it .has swept from the ocean the enemy's squadrons, and, in the midst ot ail these great tasks, has met, defied, and quickie conquered the enemy's submarine devilry. No fighting instrument ever grappled with a more difficult problem than that presented by the submarine in the hands of an utterly unscrupulous foe. That it was solved swiftly, and without boasting, is an achievement which the Admiralty may well be proud of, numerous and imposing as are the-ether grounds upon which it merits, and will receive, the applause of the nation. We have now reached a most critical period of the war, in which the blockade is beginning to press upon the enemy with great severity, impelling him to take risks ror which the British Navy is, we are confident, fully prepared. Sir John Jelli■coe and his men ask nothing better than that the German High Seas Fleet may give them the chance for which they have been waiting night and day for "a year and a half. Much more likely, however, than a bold dash by the Germans into the open ocean to put the issue to the test of a fair and square fight, is some surprise directed against our mercantile marine. The Navy will, however, prove equal to all and every test. The submarine was beaten by wits, as well as by mechanical skill and courage. With the same combination of qualities, the Navy will me2t and defeat the new methods of German "friphtfulness," backed bythe worst ingenuity of the Teuton can devise.